In the last couple of years, I’ve become much more conscience of Warning Labels on products I use. I started thinking about chemicals after my dad died from Lymphoma which is a cancer involving the lymph system. The doctor told me it may have been caused by chemicals my dad was exposed to.

My dad was an aircraft mechanic in the Navy and worked with many nasty petroleum based and other chemicals like ketones, petroleum and synthetic oils, hydraulic fluid, paint, ammonia, etc. Skydrol was one such hydraulic fluid that would strip paint off of metal in seconds. His skin came in contact with these chemicals daily. He breathed the fumes into his lungs. There were no safety measures in the industry back then. These toxic chemicals built up in his system and eventually triggered cancer.

I now read all Warning Labels. Here is a label from a Tile and Grout cleaner from DuPont:

Now I don’t even change the oil in my car. Petro oil is toxic to humans.

I’m also aware of cleaning products I use in the house like Windex. Read the Warning Label on a bottle of Windex. Windex has Ammonium Hydroxide which is a toxic chemical. Here are some more chemicals in Windex that you may want to be aware of: Hexoxyethanol, Sulfonic Acids, Fragrance, C14-17-SEC-Alkane and Sodium Salts. Any fluid that can come in contact with my skin or lungs is evaluated thoroughly. My household cleaners are now Method. Method cleaners/products are non-toxic, biodegradeable and safe to use. You can buy Method products in Target.

While I’m thinking about cleaners, there are some great new gun cleaners out that are non-toxic, biodegradeable and non-flammable. This industry has really forged ahead with bio-friendly or “Green” products. A few of the “green” gun cleaners are Froglube, Fireclean, Otis Bio-CLP, Archoil AR-4200 and M-Pro-7. These products are safe to come in contact with and the fumes are non-toxic. One of these products is even FDA approved…Froglube CLP. You can read more about these products at Gun Cleaning Tips.com.

Fireclean CLP is a interesting non-toxic, biodegradable product that I have used. It has no odor which is really nice. Check it out here…Fireclean CLP Review.

Skin moisturizers get the same screening. No fragrance or alcohols of any kind. Alcohol dries your skin and God only knows what else it does when it gets absorbed in your skin. Fragrances can actually be toxic too. Look for plant based oils like Aloe Vera or vegetable oils. Eucerin is a well known skin moisturizer that is recommended by dermatologists. It has no harsh chemicals in it. Olive Oil is one of the best skin softeners/moisturizers that is 100% safe and natural. It’s also cheap.

Gun violence is an excuse to escape or redirect blame for a fatality or injury from the use of a firearm. Humans love to point the finger at someone or something else. They never want to accept reality or responsibility.

Guns don’t kill…people and animals do.

There are organizations trying to push stricter gun laws…mostly for political reasons. These organizations are not forthright in their ideologies. Making it harder to legally buy a firearm will not reduce violent crime. Just look at cities like New York, Chicago and Detroit. These cities have very strict firearm laws and just about ban handguns, yet the crime rate is very high. Washington DC banned handguns a few years ago and yet crime remained the same which is very high. So you know the reason behind anti-gun groups is not reducing crime.

Gaby Gifford was shot by a mentally disturbed person who purchased firearms legally. Guns and gun laws had nothing to do with this crime. The problem was the perpetrator. He had mental issues which caused him to act against people. Do you think he would have been a normal citizen if he could not have gotten a gun? NO WAY. He was rebelling against society. He would have used a bomb if a firearm was not available. A bomb would have killed more people. Gabby Gifford supports gun law reform because of politics or a false belief that removing guns from society will lower crime. If you believe the latter, just look back in time when there were no guns…Romans, Vikings, Egyptians, etc. Was it peaceful in those times?

So are guns used in most crimes? NOPE. Look at statistics and you will see that far more crimes occur from knives and fists than guns. Few people believe this because the News stations only show the most horrific crimes which involve firearms. The media makes it look like most crimes involve guns. The media are only interested in ratings not useful information.

Society doesn’t want to accept the real problem….people and/or economic situations. People under stress act differently than content people. Stress makes people more aggressive and often violent. If you look at crime rates in wealthy cities/countries, you’ll notice it’s very low. In poor countries, the crime rate is very high like Africa, Mexico, Central America and South America. Take a look at Somalia. It is a very poor region and it’s the most dangerous place on Earth. People resort to violence when confronted with starvation, disease and hopelessness.

Russia does not allow citizens to own a firearm unless for hunting. I think about 5% of Russians own a gun. Yet look at the crime rate. It’s very high. Russia’s economy is sinking and people are mostly poor. People become desperate and do what they think is required to survive. Russian drivers are some of the worst in the world. Go figure.

Liberal groups want to ban guns because they think it will reduce violent crime. Do “bans” work? Heroin and Cocaine are banned substances. Are they still a problem?

Take a look at what the world spends its money on and analyze the value. Do we spend our money wisely?

I watch the news daily and see where some spend their money….like statues representing past heroes, leaders, generals, presidents, etc. Millions of dollars are invested in granite artworks. Is this wisely spent money? What other projects could have been funded with this money? How about ecology or medical science? Would this be a wiser choice?

Let’s look at space exploration and the billions spent there. Do we need to travel to other planets and galaxies? The Earth will exist for 4.5 billion years into the future when the Sun will burn it up after it turns into a Red Giant. Otherwise it should remain a stable planet where life can flourish. Investments could be made to make the Earth inhabitable for the next 4 billion years. If there are climate changes, we can invest in technology to address the changes. Humans can adapt. Investments in clean air, water and food would increase the chances for life on Earth for millions or billions of years. Living on other planets is an extremely difficult objective and will cost billions or trillions of dollars. Earth is the best investment for humans by far.

Here’s the real “black Hole” for cash….military weapons. People cannot live peacefully on this planet and so must invest heavily in weapons. The U.S. spends over $600 billion on defense….$130 million fighters, $3 billion warships and submarines, $400,000 small rockets and missiles, $2-3 million tanks, $15,000 50 BMG sniper rifles, etc. More money is spent on destroying life than preserving it. Is this alright? I saw a video of an attack in Iraq where multiple Hellfire missiles were launched into an old building where terrorists were hiding. I think 3 missiles were fired into the building to kill about 5 enemy soldiers. Hellfire missiles are about $70,000 each. So it cost $210,000 to kill 5 enemy targets. I think the Iraq war cost the U.S. about $1.1 trillion. Where else could we have spent this money? Maybe on food production or healthcare or renewable energy? Check out Soylent when you want to read an interesting topic on better nutritional food. Soylent is the perfect food for humans and it’s synthetic. It’s a powder that is mixed with water or milk to provide the perfect meal. Wouldn’t you rather spend more time doing something else than cooking and cleaning up? Or grocery shopping? I would.

When are we going to stop burning oil? It pollutes the air and ground and is toxic to humans. Why are we still using oil? That’s easy…money. Oil makes billions for the oil companies and they don’t want to stop. Renewable energy is not nearly as profitable as oil so no one will invest heavily in it. Solar cells have not changed in 40 years. The oil companies are blocking it. They buy any company that jumps into renewable energy. There are huge gas taxes in every U.S. state. It’s over $1.00/gal. So where does this money go? Each state collects it but what do they do with it? Repair roads? I’m not so sure about that. Most roads and bridges are falling apart and there aren’t enough freeways to support traffic in most states.

Tobacco taxes are another fund that seems to disappear into thin air. Where is that money spent? Does it go to medical research? Or does the government spend it on useless projects that provide them with a kick-back?

Why would a city build a light-rail transit system that does not collect enough revenue to pay for its use/maintenance? It looses money every year. This just does not make any sense. The project cost around $300 million. It’s daily operating expenses exceed it’s fair revenue. Was this $300 million spent wisely? Were there other projects that would have been more beneficial to the residents?